Nov. 4, 2013

Kentucky lawmakers may make a decision in 2014 on the Brent Spence Bridge.. / The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy

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For nearly two decades, community and business leaders in Northern Kentucky have worked to build the case for replacing the Brent Spence Bridge, which turns 50 years old this month.

Now, those same people increasingly believe that the upcoming session of the Kentucky General Assembly is do-or-die time for the project.

The clock will begin ticking on Jan. 7, when the 138 state lawmakers from across Kentucky convene in Frankfort for their annual legislative session.

By the time they leave in mid-April, we should know whether the $2.5 billion project will move forward into the construction phase, or languish for another year or two – or five or even 10 years, adding $100 million annually to the cost.

One very prominent supporter of the project, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, believes now is the time to push forward.

“I think it’s a very important time for the future of the Brent Spence Bridge,” he told The Enquirer in an exclusive interview. “Now, the Ohio governor is ready to go on this. The Kentucky governor is ready to go on this. We’re partners in this thing, and we both understand the necessity of having a new bridge for the benefit of both our states.

“And I’m very hopeful that we can pull everybody together enough to be able to keep moving on this thing. Because if you let this die in the water right now, I don’t know how long it’ll be before you get any momentum to actually get this bridge up and get a new bridge there.”

In addition to drafting a statewide budget for the next two years, Kentucky lawmakers will enact a six-year road plan in 2014. The Brent Spence Bridge project needs to be in that road plan, with some construction dollars attached.

If it isn’t, the region will have to wait two more years until the next road plan revision comes around. By that time, Kentucky will have a new governor; term limits prevent Beshear from running again in 2015.

Will the next governor be as committed to the Brent Spence Bridge project as Beshear and his administration have been? Probably not. Will that person have as close a relationship with Ohio Gov. John Kasich or his successor? Probably not.

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Community leaders increasingly fear the window for action is closing.

“I don’t know why we would wait, to be honest with you. Every year that we wait, costs increase,” said Steve Stevens, president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. “That’s taxpayer or private money, and I’m sure the citizens who will be using that bridge want this to be done as cheaply and efficiently as possible. ... We’re looking at different options for funding, and a funding plan needs to be put forth.”

Last year, Kentucky lawmakers gave the region a Dec. 31, 2013, deadline to develop a financing plan for the $2.5 billion project.

Later this month, Ohio and Kentucky transportation officials are expected to present a plan that relies upon revenue from tolls and calls for construction to begin in 2015. In order to meet that timeline, the Kentucky legislature must act during the upcoming session – but obstacles remain.

For one, there is no regional consensus on how to pay for the project. State and federal officials have said that imposing tolls is the most likely path, but a large swath of Northern Kentucky is opposed to that – along with the 16 men and women who represent the region in Frankfort.

“I understand their opposition. I understand that it’s a politically sensitive issue,” Beshear said. “But what I would urge them to do is look past the politics as much as they can, and look to the benefit for this region that this bridge will have. It is for their people. And if we don’t do anything, and something happens and that bridge has to close, then the same people they’re so concerned about from a political standpoint are going to be yelling and screaming at them and others that we didn’t do something to make sure that the future is bright.”

Tolling opponents rightly argue that Northern Kentuckians who work in Ohio will pay an unfair share of the burden, and they believe the federal government should pay for the project. Historically, Congress has paid for 80 percent of such projects – but that was before earmark reform and the recession. Today, projects of this scale simply do not get built without some kind of alternative funding, such as a public-private partnership or tolls. Political and community leaders will discuss tolls and other funding options in more depth at a Northern Kentucky Forum event on Monday.

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“I know nobody likes tolls – I don’t like tolls – but really the bottom line comes down to the question, ‘Do you want a bridge? Do we need a bridge?’ I would answer that, ‘Yes,’” Beshear said.

At least one prominent Northern Kentucky politician would beg to differ; state Rep. Arnold Simpson, the Covington Democrat whose district includes the bridge, says the region can afford to wait until more is known about the long-term impact tolls would have on the region. The bridge has been labeled functionally obsolete, but Simpson said it remains structurally sound.

“We’re going to have to replace that bridge. And perhaps the day might come when we would have to contemplate tolls. But that day is not today. Nor is it next year,” he said Thursday at a Covington Business Council forum. “…We have time to look for alternatives. So let’s wait.”

Other lawmakers appear to be seeking a middle ground, however.

“First of all, I’m against tolls. Second of all, I’m pro-building-a-new-bridge,” Rep. Adam Koenig, chairman of the Northern Kentucky Legislative Caucus, said at Thursday’s business forum.

Time is running out, however, for more political leaders – and their constituents – to find their way to that middle ground.⬛